Bitcoin withdrawals temporarily halted by Bitzlato
Bitzlato, a crypto exchange platform, has indefinitely suspended the withdrawal of Bitcoins (BTC) due to legal issues in France. On December 27, Bitzlato announced the suspension of special balance withdrawals and technical customer support in preparation for upcoming court hearings related to the seized assets of users in France. However, users still have access to a partial withdrawal of Bitcoins starting from March 20. Since September 14, the platform has increased the funds limit to 60%.
Bitzlato faced further troubles when its founder, Anatoly Legkodymov, was arrested in Miami on January 18. Legkodymov pleaded guilty to transferring and laundering criminal funds and agreed to close the platform, relinquishing any claims to about $23 million in seized assets. He also filed a petition for release from custody as part of the plea deal. The French Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into Bitzlato, stating that the platform converted criminal-related assets worth approximately €1 billion, including $700 million for the darknet marketplace Hydra and $15 million for ransomware operators.
During the operation, law enforcement officers seized Bitzlato’s hot wallet, which held around 35% of user funds in all cryptocurrencies at the time.
